When I'm putting together these weekly gear guides, I often try to come up with a theme that binds the items together in some way. Sometimes though, nothing more is needed than, “these are things we've been into lately.”
In that spirit, here are six cool kitchen items we've recommended in the past few months.
The "Nourish" digital kitchen scale by Greater Goods. ($10–12, depending on color)
Greater Goods "Nourish" Digital Kitchen Scale »
The Nourish digital kitchen scale by Greater Goods is a simple and thoughtfully designed device that's perfect for weighing food ingredients and coffee.
It's accurate to within 1 gram or 0.1 ounces and can hold up to 11lb of stuff, which is plenty enough for most people. There are only two buttons: one for tare/power, and another that lets you switch between grams, pounds + ounces, fluid ounces, and milliliters. The whole thing is easy to wipe clean as well. An all-around great tool to have in your kitchen.
Comes in black glass (pictured above, $12), silver stainless steel ($11), and grey plastic ($10).
Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker. ($161 or $191, depending on capacity)
Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 "Neuro Fuzzy" Rice Cooker »
The Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 is perhaps the smartest rice cooker you'll ever own. It has an onboard "Neuro Fuzzy Logic" microchip that allows the cooker to sense moisture and make fine adjustments to temperature and heating time, resulting in perfect rice every single time.
As noted by Wirecutter in their recently updated review, the NS-ZCC10 can even get it right when you mess up:
When we intentionally mismeasured the ratio of rice to water, the Neuro Fuzzy was the only cooker able to adjust its cooking parameters enough to make rice that was not just edible, but delicious.
For them, this one feature alone — well, that and the plastic handles attached to the inner pot — is what put the NS-ZCC10 over the NS-TSC10 model we featured in our guide to cooking Japanese rice a while back.
The NS-ZCC10 comes in two sizes:
OXO Good Grips apple slicer. ($10)
OXO Good Grips Apple Slicer »
If apple slices are a preferred snack for you and/or your kid but you get sick of cutting those slices individually all the time, you should get the OXO Good Grips Apple Slicer. Just press the sharp stainless steel blades downward and boom, you've got a perfectly sliced and cored apple, every time. It only takes a few seconds.
The oversized raised rubber handles make the slicer comfortable to use, and when you're done, the whole thing can be easily rinsed off or put in the dishwasher if you like. Also works well for slicing pears.
This is one of the few single-purpose kitchen tools worth keeping around.
Ugmonk's latest set of coffee mugs. ($119 for the full set; other prices listed below)
Ugmonk's "Mountains" and "Enjoy the Journey" Coffee Mugs »
Our friend Jeff Sheldon of Ugmonk recently put out two new lines of coffee mugs, one trio sporting his signature "Mountains" motif and another that says "Enjoy the Journey". Made in collaboration with Created Co., these premium porcelain mugs come in black, white, and gray and were made with the highest quality in mind:
Kiln fired at 2500° F, the mugs are oven-, freezer-, microwave-, and dishwasher-safe and impact- and chip-resistant. The hygienic non-porous glaze will not absorb liquid, keeping them safe and bacteria free.
Both sets are ??? and can purchased in a number of ways:
Bundles:
- Full set of six, i.e. both trios ($119)
- "Mountains" trio ($64)
- "Enjoy the Journey" trio ($64)
Individual mugs ($24 for one, $44 for two, $64 for three)
Prepworks magnetic measuring spoons. ($15)
Prepworks Magnetic Measuring Spoons »
One of the annoying things about measuring spoon sets is that they tend to separate from one another in the drawer, so you're always having to dig around to find the right one. Not so with these double-ended stainless steel measuring spoons, which have embedded magnets that keep them nested together in storage.
Each spoon has a round end for measuring liquids and an oval-shaped end for fitting into spice bottles, so you can easily alternate between wet and dry ingredients with the same spoon without washing it.
There are five spoons in the set:
- ¼ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon
- ½ tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon
Keep in mind that the magnets can come off the spoons if you're not careful, especially if you ever throw them into the dishwasher. We'd gently hand-wash these only.
UE Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker. ($60–$100, depending on color)
UE Wonderboom Bluetooth Speaker »
You're probably thinking, “A speaker in a kitchen gear guide? Wha...?” but hear (heh) me out. The UE Wonderboom is perfect for listening to podcasts or your favorite music while you cook. It may be pint-sized, but it pumps out a surprising amount of bassy sound in all directions, which is great when you want to hear something over the sounds of sizzling pans or the whirring of mixers, et al.
What makes it particularly awesome in the kitchen is that it has an IPX7 waterproof rating, making it submersible up to 3 feet for half an hour. Not that you're necessarily going to be dipping the thing into a pot of water, but you'll at least have the peace of mind that splashes and steam aren't going to damage the device.
And finally, the Wonderboom (like other UE speakers) sports those iconic huge plus (+) and minus (-) face buttons for easily controlling volume when your hands are occupied with cooking tasks. Two Wonderbooms can be paired with one another for an even better sound experience, and each one has a battery life of ~10 hours.